The Players Championship Preview and Picks
By Matt Hupfer
The Florida swing marches on to The Players Championship. The Players is the PGA Tour’s biggest event of the year. The tour doesn’t operate any majors, so The Players is dubbed as “the fifth major.” The Players is better than most, but it is still the fifth-best event right behind the majors.
Justin Thomas was seven shots back after two rounds here last year. Thomas put on a ball-striking clinic over the weekend to win the tournament by one shot over Lee Westwood. JT shot 64-68 the final two days and hit 17/18 greens on Sunday.
The tour’s crown jewel has provided some of the most iconic moments in golf over the years and the high expectations tend to be met at TPC Sawgrass. More than 20 groups from the morning session will be covered on ESPN+. The Players’ was cut short after one round in 2020 due to COVID, so here’s a look at the winners, their score, and the cutline for the last five Players’.
2021: Justin Thomas -14, Cut E
2019: Rory McIlroy -16, Cut -1
2018: Webb Simpson -18, Cut -1
2017: Si Woo Kim -10, Cut +2
2016: Jason Day -15, Cut -2
Want your voice heard? Join the Pro Golf Now team!
The field and the stakes this week at TPC Sawgrass, home of the 2022 Players Championship
The Players has one of the strongest annual fields on tour. The strength of the field is usually in the top three every year and that’s including the majors. 48 of the top 50 in the world are teeing it up this week.
The only four qualified players not playing this week are Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, Harris English, and Steve Stricker. Every elite player is playing this week so I’m not going to dive too deep into it. The past winners in the field include Adam Scott (2004), Sergio Garcia (2008), Henrik Stenson (2009), Matt Kuchar (2012), Jason Day (2016), Si Woo Kim (2017), Webb Simpson (2018), Rory McIlroy (2019), and defending champion Justin Thomas.
The stakes have been elevated this week. The purse has been raised from $15M to $20M this year with the winner taking home $3.6M. For context, the majors’ payout is between $10.75M (The Open) and $12.5M (US Open). The purse is the second largest behind the Tour Championship, which rewards players for their entire year of work. The winner also receives 80 OWGR points, 600 FedEx Cup points, a five-year exemption on tour, and a three-year exemption into all the majors.
The Players is the only event on tour that does not have a sudden-death playoff. If two or more players are tied for the lead after their rounds on Sunday, there will be a three-hole aggregate playoff on holes 16-18. If still tied after three, the playoff will go into sudden death with 17 and 18 being played until a winner is determined.